1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of processors and, more particularly, to power reduction mechanisms in processors.
2. Description of the Related Art
The consumption of power by integrated circuits, especially those integrated circuits which include processors, is a major design consideration for designers of integrated circuits. If a given integrated circuit consumes too much power, the integrated circuit may not be suitable for certain system applications, or may complicate the design of systems which include the integrated circuit.
One typical mechanism for reducing power consumption is conditional clocking of circuitry within the integrated circuit. If circuitry is idle during a given clock cycle or clock cycles, the clock signal provided to that circuitry may be held at a constant value during those clock cycles rather than oscillating at its normal frequency.